Red Roses
by scullcandy
Summary: Anubis visits Sadie after the funeral of a young child. Fluff.


**I hope everybody had a happy Turkey Day! For my Sanubis lovelies, here you are (oh and by the way I'm not Rick Riordan. I never would have allowed two characters to start a relationship at the end of a book.)**

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"I hate maths," I said irritably. "It's bloody awful."

I closed the textbook and wrung my hands in frustration. In what bloody world was it fair that Carter got all of Mum and Dad's brains?! I didn't want to be a total geek, but it would be a bit nice to actually be able to grasp the concept of this.

I flopped down on the bed and rubbed my eyes. They hurt terribly from reading so long. Reading Egyptian and spells and such never seemed to bother me anymore, but English gave me a headache if I spent too much time reading it.

I sighed and put my papers back in the folder and stuffed them in my pack. It was near midnight and I had to get up and go to London to visit Liz and Emma tomorrow. I groaned at the prospect of getting up early. Perhaps I would just stay up till then? After all, it's easier to stay up till the break of dawn, than wake up at the break of dawn-

"Lady Kane?"

I whirled.

Anubis was standing in my balcony, looking morbid and gorgeous. His disheveled hair was brushed back neatly, the top layer pulled into a ponytail. I didn't even think Deathboy's hair was long enough for it to be put up, but it looked gorgeous. His molten brown eyes studied me with a depressed expression. There was none of his usual persona to him. He just looked depressed.

 _I don't think he's here for a light-hearted chat,_ I thought worriedly. As I stepped closer, I realized he was in a crisp black suit, with a blood-red dress shirt and a black tie. I have to say, despite the fact that he looked so unhappy, he looked smashing.

"Are you going to let me in, my lady?" he asked through the glass door. "It's incredibly cold out here."

I almost smacked myself upside the head. 'No thank you, Anubis. I'll just stand here like a blazing idiot and gape at you. Don't mind the drool as I openly ogle at your quite lovely everything.'

I opened the door for him and he stepped in.

 **(Please note that Anubis is a death god and during the period when the House of Life and the gods went hand in hand, Anubis would come and discuss funerary arrangements when a high-standing official died. Therefore, Anubis does not need permission into any of the nomes, on account that, at some point in time, he visited every one of them and gained permission inside years ago. This is why Sadie did not need to grant him entrance into her room.)**

Anubis shivered as he came inside my room. I tried very hard not to stare as he sat down at my desk chair and looked at me with a tender gaze. A red rose was tucked in the pocket of his suit jacket, just above his heart. I focused on it instead of his eyes. It was much easier to think that way.

"I am assuming you're wondering why I'm here," Anubis said thoughtfully.

"Yes, well, you don't pop in much-or at all," I said, giving him a glare. He sighed, not even bothering to argue with me.

"I have had an awful day and have, frankly, reached my limit," he admitted. To my shock, his eyes misted over and he turned his head away, trying to keep me from seeing.

I was shocked. Deathboy was _crying_. I'm not normally soft, but I melted like a marshmallow and went to his side, throwing my arms around him.

"W-what are you doing?" Anubis spluttered.

I rolled my eyes and pulled away, catching his chin in my hand. He looked at me, looking surprised and uncertain. I used my sleeve to wipe away his tears.

"That was a hug. Surely they had those in ancient times, hm? Now, what's the matter, love?"

He paused, uncertain. "I'm in charge of funerals…"

I raised an eyebrow, "well, as the 'God of Funerals' I would think so."

He flushed, "no, you don't understand. Everybody dies. Not all at the same time, or the same way, or with the same mindset, " he swallowed. "Children, for instance, are very h-hard." he buried his head in his hands and trembled. I rubbed his back and waited for him to calm down and continue.

"What happened?" I asked calmly.

He took in a shuddering breath and didn't raise his head. "Other people take care of funerals too. Mortals called 'morticians'. But when there's a special case, or one too horrible for any mortal to handle, then it's given to me. Burned victims, victims of torture, brutally murdered people. The Bubonic Plague was a _nightmare_. But, children get passed to me occasionally. When something happened to an innocent life, something too awful to lay eyes on, let alone hands, I am given the responsibility of giving them a funeral. A final celebration of their life."

His shoulders started to shake. He looked like he might fall apart any second, but he continued. "Children are the hardest. They rarely know that they're dead. And once I-I tell them, they get so scared. They cry for their mothers, their fathers. They want their older siblings. They start to remember _how_ they died. And the-the worst are the ones-the ones that are murdered. They r-remember their last moments. They remember the _fear_. The face of their murderer, the rapist, the terrorist. The drunken mother, the abusive father, the entrained neighbor. I've heard all the stories, seen all the wrongs in the world. It never gets any easier."

He raised his head and gave me a piercing look. His gorgeous brown eyes were tortured and tearstained. For the first time, I found myself speechless.

"She was a pretty little thing, no taller than my knee," Anubis said softly. "She sang like a little bird. I didn't even have to ask her how she died. There was a knife embedded in her back. Her dress was stained with blood." He choked. "She was one of the screamers that didn't react well when she found out she was dead. W-when she calmed down, she wanted roses as red as her blood. That was the only thing she wanted from me at her funeral."

I swallowed, "did you get her the roses?"

He nodded miserably. A small smile tugged at his lips. "She loved them. I escorted her to her funeral, so she could see all the flowers. She asked me to make sure her father left with a few." He twisted his hands together and his face contorted into a look of torture that sent chills down my spine. "I couldn't figure out why she wanted red flowers. Most the little girls I arrange for, they like pastel flowers. B-but I found out why. When her mother and father came in, the father fell to his knees at the sight of all the red. He began to cry. Then he started to rant. He admitted to stabbing his daughter while she was playing. He _killed_ his own flesh and blood." Anubis dissolved into tears. "I made sure he left with a rose. One that would never wilt so he would always remember what he did," Anubis sobbed, angry tears falling down his cheeks.

I was stunned by the horrid story. It seemed so messed up, so _awful_. How did Deathboy do this eon after eons?

Poor Anubis was beside himself. Before I even realized what I was doing, I sat down in Anubis's lap and kissed his forehead and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as I could.

It was a few minutes before he hugged me back. When he did, I nearly gasped. I'd forgotten how strong he was.

"Am I hurting you?" Anubis whispered, holding me tight.

No, that cracking sound was just a rib, I've got eleven more. Please continue hugging me.

"No, I'm fine," I lied. Anubis gave a shaky intake of air and let me go.

"Thank you for listening," he said, unable to meet my eyes. "I know I am not the most pleasant of company."

I elbowed him, smiling weakly. "No, you're great company."

"And you're a terrible liar," Anubis muttered.

I ignored him, "Anubis, is there anything pleasant about your job?"

He thought for a minute. To my surprise, a smile touched his lips. As I've said before, the effect was dazzling.

"I meet many, many people. I even met my friend, Rosetta. She's quite the catch."

My smile died, along with any happiness. I crossed my arms and climbed right out of his lap.

"Oh, is she?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even.

"Yes, nearly as cute as you too," Anubis said. He had the nerve to sound _amused_!

"Well then, you should have gone crying to _her_ ," I hissed, turning away from him to stomp away. "I'm sure this _Rosetta_ would be quite capable if she's so bloody fantastic -"

Anubis caught my hand and turned my around. He looked like he was thinly concealing laughter.

"Rosetta is a seven year old that died in an insane asylum 800 years ago," Anubis said, his eyes twinkling. "She likes to pester me every now and then-kinda like someone else I know," he raised an eyebrow at me.

I flushed. I could feel my face heat up bright red and Anubis laughed.

"You're so cute when you get jealous," Anubis said. He seemed quite pleased with how red I was.

"Whatever," I muttered. "I don't get jealous."

Deathboy gave me a taunting bow. "Of course not, my Lady Kane."

I huffed and flopped down on my bed. "Don't get smart with me. I will _'hi-di'_ you out of my room. Don't think I won't, just because you look smashing and all."

Anubis raised an eyebrow at me, "what does 'smashing' mean?"

"Go figure it out," I grumbled.

He turned, "I suppose if you want me to leave-"

I leapt up before I could stop myself and grabbed the back of his jacket-"don't leave!"

He turned, looking confused, "why not?"

Looking into his warm brown eyes, it was hard to think straight. "I-ah-I'm staying up till morning and I would like company. You're _at least_ five thousand years old. Surely, you can find something to spark my interest with? How often do you get to chat with anyone that's not dead?"

A smile worked its way onto his face. In seconds, he was beaming.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"There are so few people that ever _want_ to talk to me," he admitted.

To my surprise, he sat down on my bed and held my hand and began to talk, his face lit up and his eyes cheerful. He looked like an entirely different person.

Hours passed. Anubis made himself cozy and draped his suit jacket over my shoulders and I sat between his legs and we talked and talked until the sun started to come up. When I started to yawn, Anubis put the rose from his jacket in my hair and told me about how he met Rosetta.

"I want to meet her," I said.

Anubis shifted, "Sadie, she was in a mental asylum for a reason. She's a sweet child, but she's very shy of people, especially girls. I don't know why she has such a liking for me," when he saw my disappointed expression, he sighed. "Although, she probably needs another friend. I'll see if the little monster wants to meet the other woman in my life." **(Review if you want another chapter where Sadie meets Rosetta)**

I leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around me.

"You're awful affectionate," I noticed.

"It's late. The gods are asleep. _I_ should be asleep-"

"You have a bedtime?" I scoffed.

He scowled, "no. I work from sun up till sundown. I need sleep, despite the fact that I am a god." he yawned again and placed his head on my shoulder. "This is just one of those days that thoroughly wore me out."

I pet his hair, "I'm sorry it was so horrid. Maybe tomorrow you'll be able to do some court scrolls instead. Do you enjoy those, or is it just more of busy-work?" when he didn't answer I twisted. Deathboy had his head rested on my shoulder. I could feel his breath on my neck.

"Gods, you must be tired," I said. I squirmed and hoped he didn't wake up. I shifted down too and placed my head on his chest, his jacket still around my shoulders. I took the rose out of my hair and placed it on my bedside table so it wouldn't be crushed.

 _He makes a good pillow,_ I thought sleepily as I put my head on his stomach. _Perhaps he isn't the 'god of pretty much nothing useful'_. I cringed with sympathy when I remembered his tears.

 _Poor Anubis,_ I thought, drifting off. _Poor…Deathboy…_


End file.
